While our trip out of SD and the Black Hills was mundane with a stop in Rapid City to the washateria where we took advantage of the wifi to still try to catch up on the blog and website and then camping early in Belle Fourche, what lay ahead was definitely not mundane….. We were about to hit the Badlands of ND in more ways than one.

For a badland, Theodore Roosevelt National Park is stunningly beautiful and is unique among the scenic parks. It honors the president who probably did more for the National Park System than anyone before or since. It’s where the Great Plains meet the rugged Badlands and is habitat for bison, elk and cute little prairie dogs that can be seen everywhere. It is a glorious drive now but would have been tres' daunting in a covered wagon as there is nothing flat anywhere, just hill after hill after hill.

Feeling happy with our day we headed off to a free camping area nearby for our own unbeknownst badland adventure. The site we were expecting to find was occupied by several RV’s who had circled up for the evening. But we spotted a few more up the narrow single-lane slightly muddy red dirt road up to a crestline with a view. Brandon was driving. Today was his first time to drive the van. I was looking down at my phone checking to see if we had cell service. Then….BAM!*#! OMG! What was that?? Was the van still intact? Did all the screws hold the cabinets, bed, kitchen? Were we OK?? Could we still drive? What just happened????

As the van settled down, I saw on the right side that there was a big rock partially covered in long grass that we had hit hard as we drove over it. With not much choice we had to continue up the road to find a spot to turn around. With a shaken Brandon and shaken van, we arrived back down to check out the damages. As soon as I opened the door, I saw… The running board was completely pushed up but not entirely off. We checked under the van and saw a leak. With fingers crossed, we headed off to the nearest big town, Dickinson, 30” away. Our goal was to park at a Walmart. Too late for any shops to be open.

Next day it appeared that there were no more leaks under the van. Probably was just the AC condensation. But the running board definitely needed repair. After many phone calls with Erik and FaceTiming with photos (telemechanics), we determined that if we could find a welding shop, it could straighten out the middle brace and we could reattach the board.

Thanks to Mrs. Google, we found a daughter/dad welding shop, CJ’s. They couldn’t have been nicer!!! Took about 5” for CJ to straighten it and the spacers and we were back in business. Well….back in business after 1.5 hours of Brandon lying on the dirt under the van positioning, repositioning, and screwing on all the bolts. But in the end - success!!!!

We thanked CJ and his daughter profusely. I asked how much we owed. She said, “Oh, whatever you want. You don’t even have to pay us.” In the end I wound up giving her $20 which seemed so little for our being able to get back on the road again with a functioning running board. We then went to Midas to get the underside checked. All A-OK. The leak was probably the AC.

Whew!!! We (particularly Brandon) learned a lot. He can now put on any running board and is extra keen on rock spotting! This “event” definitely stands out as one of the highlights so far.

P.S. Actually my first night parking at a Walmart wasn’t bad!!